SC Gives Partial Relief In Aadhaar- PAN Linkage

The Court said that the new provision will be effective prospectively and not retrospectively.

New Delhi: While upholding a newly-inserted provision in the Income Tax Act mandating linking of Aadhaar number with Permanent Account Number (PAN), the Supreme Court partially stayed its operation on Friday.

A bench comprising Justice AK Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan said that those who already have Aadhaar number should link it with PAN, but it cannot be insisted upon in case of people not possessing Aadhaar card.

The apex court stayed government order of linking Aadhaar with PAN till the Constitution Bench decides on the matter.

Holding that the said provision in the IT Act was not violative of Article 14 (Right to Equality) and Article 19, Justice Sikri pronounced the judgment and said that the new provision may be effective prospectively and not retrospectively, and the transactions already undertaken in the past cannot be reopened.

The bench had on May 4 reserved the verdict on the pleas challenging section 139 AA of the Income Tax – (I-T) Act. It was introduced in the latest budget.

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[…] Finance Minister Arun Jaitley through an amendment to tax proposals in the Finance Bill for 2017-18 had made Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns and provided for linking of PAN with Aadhaar to check tax evasion through the use of multiple PAN cards. More: SC Gives Partial Relief In Aadhaar- PAN Linkage […]